He returns January eleventh as the co-feature to Jesse Hart vs. Joe Smith, Jr. on ESPN. His opponent is still TBA, in his first outing since losing the WBA middleweight title in a rematch with Ryōta Murata (who is scheduled to defend against Steven Butler the day before Christmas Eve; so either Brant didn't have a rubber match clause or elected not to exercise it). He's only 29 and has only been defeated by world class elites, so I think Brant still has plenty of upside. Should he target a trilogy fight with Murata, or seek an easier route? He is currently rated #10 by the WBC and #11 by the WBA. Theoretically, he could try and position himself for a crack at Jermall Charlo. The weakest titlist is probably Demetrius Andrade, but as of today Brant is absent from the WBO's top 15. Also...there were some vague whispers recently of a match-up in 2020 pitting Brant against Liam Williams (WBC #4). That ...would be a corker. And the winner a categorically worthy challenger for (and danger to?) Charlo.
